Matched Betting an In-depth Explanation

[BitcoinPanther]

Reading the thread[1] created by Gianluca95, and looking for the detailed explanation of Match Betting, I stumbled on a good article[2] that clearly defines it so I decided to share the contentt with you without making you  leave this forum..  


What is Matched Betting

• involves strategical placing of bets in a way that allows one to win no matter what the result
• take advantage of free bet offers
• it does not involves gambling but math due to the calculated outcomes
• matched betting can fall anywhere from a gray area to completely illegal
• its simpler iterations often go against bookmakers’ terms and conditions, so it is generally considered fraudulent.  

How Does Matched Betting Work?

• Find a free bet offer (e.g. a sign-up bonus)
• Fulfill the criteria to take the free bet (e.g. place another bet first)
• Take the free bet with the bookie (e.g. England to win)
• Find the opposite bet on a betting exchange (e.g. England not to win)
• Place the opposite bet on the exchange
• Wait for the event to be over
• Win money no matter the result (either with the bookie or the exchange)

Matched betting is considered by those who attempt it to be somewhat of a loophole, but the vast majority of bookmakers both explicitly forbid matched betting on their platform, and continue to do everything in their power to curb the phenomenon.

What Is Matched Betting Bonus Abuse?

Matched betting is a type of bonus abuse because you always take advantage of a free/bonus bet to do it.

Not all Bonus Abuse is classified as matched betting.

However, not all types of bonus abuse can be classed as matched betting: There is also abuse of no deposit cash bonuses at online casinos, free spins on slot machines, free games of bingo, etc. Although there are always rollover requirements associated with cashing out free bonuses, seasoned scammers have found ways around those too.

Is Matched Betting the Same as Arbitrage?

No. They use similar mechanisms but matched betting takes advantage of bookies’ free bet offers, while arbers are just doing calculations on regular odds.

Matched betting is normally forbidden by bookmakers, while arbitrage is frowned upon but dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The latter is also harder to identify, since bettor and player conduct related to bonus offers is always carefully scrutinized.

Can You Lose Money with Matched Betting?

It was stated that the only way to lose money with matched betting is the wrong calculation.

The only way for matched bets to lose someone money is if they make a mistake in their calculations. However, bookies and gambling operators always lose money with matched betting, which is why it’s explicitly not allowed on their platforms.

Is Matched Betting Illegal?
Even though it go against the TOS of an onlinge betting site, it isn't exactly illegal.

“Matched betting bonus abuse is completely legal. Many operators have stated the same. Part of what falls into a grey area is betting on behalf of your friends and family etc., betting on behalf of other people. It’s always done, in our case, with their permission. It’s a grey area as it’s never been tested in court. But there’s a darker side, with people who steal identities and that’s clear cut.”

source: https://seon.io/resources/podcasts/5-noteworthy-quotes-from-bonus-abuse-online-gambling-experts-ada-lovelace/

To solve this kind of exploit Book makers had designed some rules to mitigate such action.

Strategies to Stop Matched Betting Fraud

This simple diagram show how they deal with this kind of fraud activity.


They also create this lists  to stop those abuses.
Making Bonus and Rollover Requirements Stricter

It is a delicate balance, the one between ensuring gratis offers are strict enough to not be easily abused and keeping them attractive to prospective users. Anything too stringent will cause friction and lose the brand customers. The intensely competitive nature of the iGaming sector complicates things further.

Implementing Strong KYC Protocols

These days, simple know your customer (KYC) protocols are a requirement for most sportbooks and other gambling operators, but additional steps beyond just scanning a form of identification can be taken in order to provide more clarity.

Real-Time Monitoring and Rating Risk

For operators to stop matched bettors in their tracks, the most effective solution involves tapping into advanced technology to look into each user and account separately, combining data points to do with their browser, device, location, submitted ID, card details and more to assign a risk score.
Higher risk scores will then trigger heavy KYC processes as opposed to light KYC for lower risk scores, while thresholds can be set for manual reviews or auto-banning as well.  

This kind of Bonus abuse had been plaguing the gambling industry since 2004 and bookmakers have problem dealing with this completely because they are having a hard time because this exploit is deemed legal.  They had set new kinds of mitigating rules but it looks like its affect is too little.  What do you think is the better method in dealing with this kind of abuse?  

Source;
[1] https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5403004.msg60389133#msg60389133
[2] https://seon.io/resources/dictionary/matched-betting/

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[bittraffic]

Would you be banned by the bookmarker if you do this match betting?  Because I believe everyone have done this especially in UFC.

Sportsbet or Stake doesnt seem to care though. In sportsbet for example,  I bet 25ADA for the favorite fighter to win via submission and then bet 5ADA for the opponent which I could end up earning 25 ADA back if he gets lucky. The only unfortunete that will happen here if the favored fighter wins via KO.

[seoincorporation]

Thanks for this thread BitcoinPanther.

I was also confused about the term and now it's clear how the Matched Betting works, the last time I applied it was on a FreeSlots promo where users have to make a depo to get the free spins, and to withdraw the requirement was to wager the balance x1. I did an all-in bet on roulette, half on red and half on black, and after that, I was able to withdraw. I was lucky because after me I start reading about how users get their accounts locked by asking for KYC and pointed as bonus abusers.

[jackg]

Is it not better to call it "matched betting bonus abuse" (considering that's what it is so it doesn't get mixed up with matched betting via arbitrage). The difference being that matched betting via arbitrage takes some level of knowledge and skill for the person doing it as it's finding a way to reduce the probability of winning to below 1.

Repeatedly using bonuses with different accounts does automatically seem far less ethical.

[Gianluca95]

Great thread Sir, I like it, you explain really in great way how matched betting works ! I'm absolutely in agree with you in every part of your text, the only thing that I can say is that you can't stop Matched betting, but at the

same time casino could apply this sort of strategy:

1) User register in your website
2) Sent KYC documents and you approve it.
3) Once KYC is ok, users will submit a first deposit and will receive welcome bonus from casino.
4) If users play and respect requirement for unlock bonus and is goin to withdraw it, casino should lock it instantly and deny withdrawal.


This is the only strategy that could allow casino to have a sort of protection against the matched bettor

[Rruchi man]

Thanks for taking out time to make an in-depth explanation of Matched betting. It is a term that I have just come across, and I'm wondering, since it is legal and assures winning so far one is careful to check against errors/mistakes when betting, why are most persons not just ''match betting'' which assures winning instead of playing regular bets. Can matched betting be depended on as a reliable source of income if one devotes time and resources to mastering the strategy?

[BitcoinPanther]

Thanks for taking out time to make an in-depth explanation of Matched betting. It is a term that I have just come across, and I'm wondering, since it is legal and assures winning so far one is careful to check against errors/mistakes when betting, why are most persons not just ''match betting'' which assures winning instead of playing regular bets. Can matched betting be depended on as a reliable source of income if one devotes time and resources to mastering the strategy?

Match betting is a hard task, it needs a lot of research and precise mathematical calculations of every casino bonus.  Aside from that not all people are good at creating bot that can filter different casinos in a short span of time that has bonus that can be exploited by matched betting.  There are people doing this kind of activity but surely their activities are kept secret to not alarm their target casinos.